Dorato Capital Management Invests $557,000 in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Dorato Capital Management acquired a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $557,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 790.0% in the third quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 95.4% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $70.74 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $83.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $46.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $73.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.28.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $52.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.43 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The business’s revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MET shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Mizuho set a $100.00 price objective on MetLife in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings cut MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.42.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.